In the horticultural industry, growers and nurseries periodically transplant growing plants (e.g., seedlings, flowers, young trees, shrubs, etc.) into pots of increased size in order to accommodate future growth. Once the plants have grown to a desired size, the potted plants can be sold or otherwise transferred to retail nurseries, landscape companies or the like for transplanting to a permanent site.
Growers often employ container filling machines, or so-called potting machines, to fill horticultural containers or planting pots with soil in order to receive seedlings or other growing plants that are ready for transplanting. Conventional potting machines automate the filling of the horticultural containers (e.g., pots, trays, or other containers) with soil by passing the horticultural containers on a conveyor belt under a filling location, whereby soil is gravity-fed into the horticultural containers. Subsequently, the soil is leveled in the pot by scraping or lightly pressing the soil, and the filled pot may be removed from the conveyor. Alternatively, the pot is delivered by the conveyor to a hole-drilling station, whereby a hole is drilled in the middle of the filled pot in order to receive the seedling or young plant. Once planted, the horticultural containers including the newly transplanted plants can be removed from the conveyor belt for transport to a new location.
Conventional potting machines typically employ a bucket conveyor, soil chain elevator using chains and sprockets, or auger which transfers potting soil from a soil supply to the substantially higher filling location, whereby the bucket conveyor or auger elevates and transfers the soil over and into the horticultural containers travelling along the conveyor belt. However, such conventional potting machines employing bucket conveyors or chain elevators often experience difficulties in adequately feeding soils to the horticultural containers based on the consistency of the soil. For example, soils having varying quantities of sand, bark, mulch, or other materials can clog, jam, or otherwise hinder the operation of the bucket conveyor or auger, thus leading to inconsistent filling of the horticultural containers. Since the bucket conveyor is often travelling downward at the region where the bucket conveyor picks up the soil, the bucket conveyor has a tendency to jam due, at least in part, to the variations in the soil consistency. When a jam occurs, the machine potting is shut down until the jam is rectified, thereby decreasing production associated with the machine. Further, as a consequence, these conventional pot filling machines often require substantial maintenance, as they are often prone to failure.